Welcome to DyeStat.com Track Talk!

You will have to register for a RunnerSpace account before you can post: click the LOGIN / SIGN UP link in the top brown bar to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

We've spent much of the summer digging through cross country and track results to identify the top cross country teams for the coming season based on performances. There are certainly quality teams outside the top 50, but we felt that 50 was the level we could do with some degree of confidence. Please remember that these are "Performance Rankings" based on marks achieved within the past year, rather than predictions of where teams will be in November. This is just where we see each team at as a starting point based on previous races. Actual races results are what matters!

One thing is certain - California is deeper than ever! Starting August 15th, we will begin to release our pre-season rankings per the schedule below and won't let up until it's done!

Unfortunately I found an error on the boys list which will require me to slot in a team in the mid-20's (better late than never). That will push everyone already listed back one spot. Look for Boys Teams 21-31 tomorrow.

I just found out Lucas Matison has transferred from Carlmont to Palo Alto, which would drop Carlmont's ranking, but this is a snapshot of what I knew when I did the math. It will be trued up when we get to in-season rankings!

This is great! After looking through teams 50-11 on the girls side, I am shocked at how similar they look. Any one of these teams could easily place top 10 in a power merge at state. Wow CA is really really deep on the girls side!

This is great! After looking through teams 50-11 on the girls side, I am shocked at how similar they look. Any one of these teams could easily place top 10 in a power merge at state. Wow CA is really really deep on the girls side!

Thanks Matthew! And yes that's the challenge, when you are looking at teams above the top 10 or 20 you are basically looking "in the pack". Often what differentiates a team is the strongest 5th runner, and it's not always easy to predict who that is (and I'm sure we're often wrong). Our rankings are mathmatical, inputting the top 1600, 3200, State, Sectional, and top invitational (Mt. Sac, Stanford, and Clovis) marks into a model and setting them on a level playing field. So the rankings are objective in that way, though you could easily argue the creation of the model has some subjectivity! One more good mark, one missed PR and that ranking can move 5 to 10 places.

And that's why pre-season rankings especially should be taken with a grain of salt. I hope it gives people a general idea of where they are at as a starting point, but no doubt they will change a lot in a month!

We are working out the details of on-going rankings during the season, but it will probably be bi-weekly including divisional and overall state rankings. Stay tuned.